Mississippi State senior center Teaira McCowan and MSU freshman Reggie Perry were honored Monday for their accomplishments.
McCowan was one of 20 women’s basketball players named to the late season watch list for the John Wooden Award. McCowan leads No. 6 MSU (21-1, 9-0 Southeastern Conference) in scoring (16.9 points per game) and rebounding (13.7 per game). She is sixth in the nation with 58 blocked shots and fifth in field goal percentage (66.1 percent).
McCowan already has broken the MSU career records for rebounds (1,316) and double-doubles (57) this season en route to four weekly SEC honors. The Brenham, Texas, native has recorded 18 double-doubles.
Among active players, McCowan is second in the country in career rebounds, fourth in double-doubles, eighth in blocks, 21st in field goals made, and 38th in total points.
Four schools have multiple players on the list, led by Connecticut with three selections (Napheesa Collier, Crystal Dangerfield, and Katie Lou Samuelson), followed by three schools with two selections apiece: Baylor (Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox), Notre Dame (Arike Ogunbowale and Jessica Shepard), and Oregon (Ruthy Hebard and Sabrina Ionescu).
The Pacific-12 Conference leads all conferences with five selections, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference with four.
Texas A&M’s Chennedy Carter and Missouri’s Sophie Cunningham also made the cut.
The 15 finalists will be revealed ahead of the NCAA tournament. The Wooden Award winner will be announced April 12 at the College Basketball Awards.
Perry named SEC Freshman of the Week
After delivering two career-high scoring performances, Perry was named SEC Freshman of the Week.
The honor is the first of Perry’s career. It is MSU’s second SEC weekly award for the 2018-19 season. Lamar Peters captured SEC Player of the Week on Dec. 10.
Perry averaged 19.5 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks per game. He poured in a career-best 21 points and matched a SEC season-high with 11 rebounds at Ole Miss en route to his second double-double in his last three outings.
Perry hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3 minutes, 32 seconds remaining to break a 73-all tie and help push MSU to its first win in Oxford since 2010-11.
Perry opened the week with a then career-high 18 points on 9-for-12 shooting at Alabama
Kentucky forward PJ Washington and Tennessee guard Jordan Bone were named SEC co-Players of the Week.
The MSU men will play host to LSU at 8 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN2). The MSU women will play host to Tennessee at 1 p.m. Sunday (ESPN).
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